Daydream Nation

Moore wrote prolifically and the songs grew into long improvisations, so the record became a double LP. It is the band's only release on Enigma. They had played the songs live extensively before recording at Greene St. in SoHo. Nick Sansano, usually an engineer of hip-hop records, had worked on Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions. Three weeks in the studio at $1,000 a day cost about $30,000, which Moore called the band's first non-econo record. A mastering deadline rushed the last sessions, and Gordon disliked some of her vocal takes. Mike Watt left a voicemail message heard on Providence, and the cover is a painting by Gerhard Richter.

The album reached number 99 in the UK and did not chart in the US. NME gave it 10 out of 10, and it finished 1988 at number 2 in Rolling Stone's year-end list, number 1 at CMJ and number 2 in Pazz & Jop. Pitchfork's Amy Phillips called it the defining document of American indie rock, and David Bowie called it an extraordinary album. It topped Pitchfork's 1980s list in 2002 and sits in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. A deluxe edition in 2007 added a live disc and covers. Reviewing the deluxe edition in 2007, Pitchfork's Nitsuh Abebe said the live collection that comes with it touches every song on the album.